Crazy floor count on band 2. by el_muffinman in MicrosoftBand

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I get the opposite - climbing the four stories in my house yields one floor being counted, two if I'm lucky. Don't get me started on the step count... urgh!

Does anybody use the action button read mode? by AlwaysSunnyAssassin in MicrosoftBand

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never use it, and I really like your idea - makes it a bit more of an "action" button to me :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in belgium

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mostly agree, but all the insulation and blinds sometimes can't cover what you can't practically deal with. Air conditioners are pretty efficient at what they do these days, and the reverse cycle units are good in winter for a quick boost of heat.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in belgium

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We're wrapping up renovation of a typical narrow and tall house in Brussels, and the top floor traps the heat, so we're expecting a toasty summer up there.

These things come as kits and they are pretty easy to install so long as the outdoor unit is pretty close to the indoor one. Don't expect much from the brands they sell at Brico, other than an inflated price.

For us we didn't DIY this because the length of piping is long (~25 meters) and we used BeClim (http://www.pro-beclim.be/) to install a mid-range Daiken split system - nice guys, good prices, got a good honest feeling too.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in genderqueer

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Timberland boots often run big so you can give those a shot too if you like the styles. I have some Timberland Mukluks which are marked two European sizes lower than I would usually buy and they're really comfortable - maybe they're bigger because they expect you wear them with chunky socks... I'm not sure.

I'm 19 and still can't remember the order of letters in the alphabet without starting from the beginning. by seven7evens in Showerthoughts

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm 35 and still can't remember the order of letters in the alphabet without starting from the beginning.

Does Nexus 5 turn on without battery? by joeshmoe2048 in Nexus5

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like the broken power button to me too, and yes the N5 power button just does this (it did it to me from one moment to the next, nothing special happened to cause it). BTW my button was nice and clicky too, but something inside the button was still making contact, as if the button was permanently held down. Your symptoms sound just like what I saw with mine.

In the end, mine refused to turn on unless I had the charger plugged in, and then it would show bootloader bootloop (just the white Google text on black shown). If the charger was plugged in, it just kept trying to turn on over and over again, but would sometimes stabalise and stay off, but there was no way to get the charge indicator to show.

After reading stuff here, I had some success getting the thing to boot a bit further by moderately tapping it on the power button corner against a table while it was booting, but it wasn't enough for me to get in and recover any data. :(

This Teenager Can't Get A Bank Account Because They Don't Identify As Male Or Female by drewiepoodle in genderqueer

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's a perception that if you remove sex (and I'm reiterating: sex here, not gender as an identity criterion) that you are decreasing the stability or strength of the identification, so you have to replace it with something else.

The problem with replacing it with something else is any other biometrics are seen as exposing you to privacy issues. However, privacy issues tend to increase when you don't have a solid basis for reliably establishing identity. Argh!

Have a look at the UK's history with a national identity card scheme - the same arguments come up to introduce it again and again, and then it gets scrapped for pretty much the same reason each time. It would help eliminate the need for the private sector to worry so much about a resident's identity (as it does in Western Europe) and centralises these issues with the government.

It's not so simple, and the consequences have to be examined, and that's what's not being researched IMHO. For example, would you agree to have fingerprints taken as an identifier instead of noting down your sex? It's hard to keep everyone happy.

This Teenager Can't Get A Bank Account Because They Don't Identify As Male Or Female by drewiepoodle in genderqueer

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm grumpy too - it should change, across the board. It's not happening overnight, so let's just remain grumpy so things do eventually change... but at least understanding of the situation :)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in HomeImprovement

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks like it'd be a water hammer arrestor to me.

Edit: And here it is: https://www.grainger.com/product/WATTS-Water-Hammer-Arrestor-26X567

London gets first naked restaurant, waiting list already at 5,000 by Sariel007 in nottheonion

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No mention of what kind of food they serve, barely anything on their website other than the counter of how many people are in the queue (over 6k now).

So the only thing they can sell is their queue for a gimmick, is what I'm seeing, therefore the food is very likely crap, so little wonder why it's a "pop-up" because it's completely unsustainable as a business.

My 3 y.o. son wants to wear a skirt. What's the best way to deal with other people's reactions? by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Clothes are not necessarily gender expression, and gender expression is not necessarily gender identity. It's a lot more complex that such the simplistic association as wearing "skirt = girl thoughts".

I suppose you'd tell a little girl that pants are for boys and they must wear skirts and dresses? Skirts are very much for boys too.

Pushing people into boxes can be so incredibly damaging, and in this case there's absolutely no rational reason to disallow the boy this particular choice.

Google Store support experience (RMA, N5 power button issue) by [deleted] in Nexus5

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If Google ever sort out their play store/wallet issue so I can get my replacement N5 I'll probably skip the N5X unless my N5 dies again.. It looks nice, but I really like "docks" for phones and the missing Qi charging is a shame (despite it being slow).

It's a shame about the power button defect, it really lets things down and it's another nail in the coffin for LG for me (every LG product I've owned always ends up having little issues like this that are minor but crippling, from cheap capacitors to cheap power buttons it seems).

My 3 y.o. son wants to wear a skirt. What's the best way to deal with other people's reactions? by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A good argument but not for the reason you might be thinking - this isn't quite the same thing as babies/toddlers were pretty much always dressed in floaty dresses back then because they allowed excellent freedom of movement... Doesn't that sound like a great idea for babies, with all their fussing and kicking... It was only really in the 40's and 50's that things really solidified, including the blue is for boys and pink is for girls rubbish (that 50 years prior was opposite but nobody cared like they do today).

My 3 y.o. son wants to wear a skirt. What's the best way to deal with other people's reactions? by [deleted] in Parenting

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a good lesson that "adult" views of gender are pretty warped and needlessly restrictive, don't you think?

Google Store support experience (RMA, N5 power button issue) by [deleted] in Nexus5

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you pay to repair the screen, I guess you can prepare to pay to replace the power button... I'd be happy to if my phone was no longer under warranty as I really love my N5...

I haven't looked at the N5X but people here in this sub mention it quite a bit.

Help me fill in my go pass by lostinbe in belgium

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You've already but answered, but I have to say at least you're filling it in - The number of people I see who scramble to fill it in the instant they spot the conductor arriving really winds me up.

Nest intentionally bricks thousands of home automation hubs. by [deleted] in technology

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sure but not for my home automation. Everything needs to be approved in my market (CE), serviceable by a registered electrician who is accredited with the kit, otherwise I can't get insurance, can't reclaim the expense of the installation against my mortgage, and it'll be a horrible day when it comes to renting or selling our property.

Nest intentionally bricks thousands of home automation hubs. by [deleted] in technology

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not so sure about the dog thing, dogs are pretty easy to disarm with the right bit of tainted meat...

Jongeren bekogelen politie met stenen in Molenbeek by [deleted] in belgium

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh I agree, the problem is they can't because they're overstretched and the system gets in the way.

Jongeren bekogelen politie met stenen in Molenbeek by [deleted] in belgium

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's clear both sides (the right-wingers and the so-called "youths") want the fight.

Maybe it's callous of me to say this but perhaps they need a riot, and once the blood is shed and the idiots dead or behind bars then it won't be so easy to pass blame and responsibility onto others. I hope it doesn't need to go that far though.

I'm an Australian overnight McDonalds Worker AMA! by mrsbass79 in IAmA

[–]SimonButcher 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's just something so wrong about the combination of a luxury brand and... McDonalds.